'SPACE: An Out-of-Gravity Experience' at Boston's Museum of Science

Beginning this summer, visitors to the Museum of Science, Boston will get a first-hand, climb-aboard, cosmic experience and learn what it takes to live and work in space at the Museum's newest exhibit, "SPACE: An Out-of-Gravity Experience," opening June 24.

Using hands-on and large-scale interactive exhibits and multimedia components, "SPACE" will give museum goers a glimpse of the extraordinary systems, tools and technologies developed for human space travel, as well as the unique challenges and rewards of life on board the International Space Station.

Visitors will explore the conditions that make space travel so dangerous and try out some of the engineering technology that makes life and research in space possible. Along the way they'll answer questions they've long wondered about: How do astronauts sleep in a weightless environment? How do they eat? And how do they go to the bathroom?

The exhibit features artifacts from the past fifty years of space exploration, as well as the newest innovations designed to help astronauts make more frequent and longer trips into orbit. Features include Neil Armstrong's gloves from Apollo 11 and interviews with current and retired astronauts who share personal accounts of life in space.

Museum goers will also have the chance to climb aboard Destiny Lab, a life-sized replica of the laboratory connected to the International Space Station, which serves as the primary research facility for U.S. payloads. The Destiny Lab will rotate around visitors during a four-minute tour, simulating the feeling that many astronauts experience during their first days in space.

"We are excited to bring the wonder and innovation of space travel to the Museum of Science," said Museum of Science Director and President, Ioannis Miaoulis. "Space travel is full of possibilities. We invite visitors of all ages to experience living and working in space, while getting an insider's look at what space exploration means to the future of our society."

"SPACE: An Out-of-Gravity Experience" was designed and developed by the Science Museum of Minnesota in partnership with the International Space Station Office of NASA's Johnson Space Center, the California Science Center, and partner museums. This special exhibit will be featured at the Museum of Science through mid-December.

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